Rather than buy an existing property you have decided to build a brand-new home to your exact specifications. This is exciting but perhaps also overwhelming. There are many decisions to be taken and your choices can’t be easily changed once you start to build. So whether you are working with an architect or collaborating directly with your builder, it helps to start with a clear definition of your requirements.
Defining your requirements. It sounds deceptively easy. Of course, you know what you want. However the devil, as they say, is in the details. At Roatan Executive Reality we have many years of experience working with clients to understand their requirements and match them to the perfect property. It takes patience and expertise to get from a high-level vision to a crystal clear set of needs and wants that can be communicated to and understood by all involved. If you are searching for an existing home, poor requirements definition can make the search process more lengthy and frustrating than it needs to be. If you are building from scratch, the stakes are significantly higher, and poor requirements definition can have very costly consequences! We have seen and heard it all when it comes to epic design and building disasters and we want to help our clients avoid such pitfalls.
To help get you started on your design journey of your Roatan home, we have created the following discussion prompts. We do hope that you find them helpful. Please don’t hesitate to come to us for consultation or advice. And of course, when you are ready to find the perfect piece of land for your dream home, we are ready to serve you!
Aesthetics and Architectural Style for Roatan Homes
Your first design decision is to articulate your aesthetic preferences and decide which architectural style to go with. We can’t overstate the importance of this design decision. It will provide the framework for many subsequent decisions including floor plan and building materials. The traditional island-style home is a wooden A-frame on poles with deep verandahs and wooden shutters in place of windows. Designed to maximize shade, catch every breeze, and allow hot air to vent into high ceilings, this distinctive architectural style is practical and perfectly captures the rustic island vibe. While there are many advantages to this style of housing, it is not your only option. Thanks to the growth of the tourism economy and the subsequent influx of foreign property and business owners, you can now see many different styles of architecture on Roatan and the local building capabilities are fast adapting. Adobe revival, modern Mediterranean, traditional farmhouse, or Spanish hacienda. You can realize almost any architectural vision. So log into Pinterest and start cruising for inspiration. This part of the design process is very creative and a lot of fun however don’t forget to check in with your local building experts occasionally to validate the feasibility of your sky-is-the-limit design ideas.
Floor Plan and Square Footage
The decisions you make around building footprint, square footage, number of rooms, and general layout of your home will have a direct impact on the budget and also determine whether your current and future needs will be satisfied. This is a critical decision point! To get this part of the design process flowing you may want to ask yourself some questions, such as: How many people will live in the home now, and is this likely to change in the future? Do you love to entertain and host overnight guests? Will you use the home as your primary residence or a vacation rental? What is the optimal balance between individual versus shared living space? Do you want multiple stories to maximize space and views, or a single story to minimize stairs? How much outdoor versus indoor living space will suit your lifestyle? This will be a big discussion but something worth taking your time on.
Climate and Geographical Features
Many of us choose Roatan for the island’s natural beauty and tropical climate. Design your Roatan home to take full advantage of the view and outdoor lifestyle! Whether you find your perfect piece of land in the jungle or by the sea, you will want beautiful vantage points from every room and a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor living. But also keep in mind that the tropical climate can be harsh and the island terrain quite challenging. When you design your house, consideration should be given to factors such as elevation and grade of the terrain; composition of the terrain; direction of the wind; direction of sunrise and sunset; salt spray; and exposure to tropical storms and winter ‘northers’.
Home Workspace and Storage Considerations
Creating purpose-built space for your business and recreational needs is important and something often overlooked. Do you love to tinker with outboard motors? Do you have a business that you operate from home? Do you plan to have a boat, bike, paddleboard, dive equipment, or other pieces of recreational sporting equipment? Do you love complicated jigsaw puzzles that go on for weeks at a time? Do you sew, paint, garden or work with wood? Do you have a large collection of power tools? Will you use the house as a vacation rental requiring lockable storage for your personal goods? Answering these questions honestly will help make your house the perfect fit and avoid unnecessary friction among the inhabitants. And don’t forget, when it comes to storage you can never have too much.
Building Materials
When designing your Roatan home you must consider the availability of local building materials and the relative pros and cons of each. On Roatan the most common type of build is either reinforced cement, wood (domestic hardwood pine), or a combination of the two. There is some experimentation with prefabricated materials but it is not widely used. When comparing the cost per square foot cement initially appears to be more expensive than wood but the initial build is not the only consideration. You should also take into account the cost of ongoing maintenance and retention of property value. Cement structures withstand the topical conditions better than wood and will require less maintenance. However, a major repair on a cement building is likely to be more complex and costly than with wood. Wood is susceptible to damage by fire, termites, and water whereas cement is more resilient. Overall cement structures will retain their value better than wood (all other things being equal). Do the research and work the numbers. Understanding the trade-off between capital investment and ongoing costs will help you make an informed decision.
Privacy
When designing your Roatan home you should consider your need for privacy. It may not be the first thing you think about when building a home on a sleepy tropical island. But while we don’t have high-density urban areas, we do have some special considerations for maintaining privacy. If you are planning to build on an ocean-front or beach-front lot keep in mind that the front of your property will never be private. The beaches and waterways of Honduras are always public and, particularly in the tourist zones, can be very heavily trafficked. So if you have a high need for visual privacy you must design the house to provide living spaces that cannot be viewed from the beach or the water. Likewise, if you buy land in the hills surrounded by virgin jungle. You may feel in a world of your own with no one but the birds to see you but chances are the lots on either side of you will soon be developed. Roatan is still very green and rustic but that is fast changing. So unless your house is dead center of a 5-acre lot you should expect to eventually have neighbors and your need for privacy is something to be mindful of as you design and build.
Security
Roatan is a safe place and we enjoy a lot of personal freedom and a general feeling of safety. However, we must remember that crime is a reality in any part of the world. Roatan, while relatively prosperous, is part of Honduras and Honduras is a developing nation. The ex-pat and tourist communities are very wealthy when compared with the local communities to which they are adjacent. Opportunistic, mostly non-confrontational, burglary does occur. You don’t need to make your home like a prison but there are a few simple things you can incorporate into your design to make the premises unappealing to would-be thieves. Consider all points of entry to the building and make sure they will be secured. Plan on installing an alarm system and security cameras. Fence the property and have plenty of outdoor security lighting. And finally, factor in sufficient lockable storage for your high-value items which would include things like power tools, pumps, outboard motors, scooters, and recreational sporting equipment.
Utilities, Waste Management, and Sustainability
Residential infrastructure such as water, power, and waste management requires some special consideration when building on Roatan. Depending on where you buy land you may need to incorporate your own solutions for these basic needs into your building plan. Thinking these things through early in the design process will save you headaches (and money!) down the road.
- Access – road building and maintenance is the responsibility of the Central Government but only for the main arterial highway and access into large communities. Property owners in small communities and new developments are usually responsible for their own access road. Check this out before buying land. Road building and maintenance are costly activities that require coordination and cooperation between members of the community.
- Water – Municipal or community water is provided inside the major town centers of West End, Coxen Hole, and French Harbour. Outside of these communities, each individual property owner must come with a solution for delivering water to their premises. At the very least you will need some kind of cistern or tank for holding water and a pump for delivering the water to the house. Your options for sourcing water will vary by community but may include: digging a well; building a cistern sufficiently large enough to exist on rainwater catchment; buying water from a community or private well; having water delivered by truck.
- Power – Roatan has one power company. The Roatan Electric Company or RECO. If your property is not on a major power line you will be responsible for the cost of putting in cable and potentially a transformer. Also, with a new build, you have an opportunity to consider the sustainability agenda. There is a global trend towards alternative energy sources which are not fossil-fuel dependent. Roatan is well suited to wind and solar energy production. There is an upfront investment for the installation but, apart from saving the planet, you will realize the benefits of staying ‘live’ during one of our (not infrequent) power outages and also reducing the cost of your monthly RECO bill.
- Propane – If you like to cook you probably prefer cooking with gas. On Roatan we do not have natural gas, we have propane. This is delivered by truck and you have your choice of which size gas tank to install on the property. Due to the high cost of electricity, you may also want to consider propane for other appliances such as water heaters and clothes dryers. Don’t forget to install your tank somewhere that is easily accessible by the delivery truck!
- Water treatment – Unless you are in a major town center you will need a solution for managing black and greywater. Plan a solution for septic which is environmentally friendly and consider your sustainability agenda as to how you can recycle or reuse water.